


The Only Place

by Missanna444



Category: The X-Files
Genre: Angst, F/M, Post-Episode: s07e07 Orison
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-28
Updated: 2017-12-28
Packaged: 2019-02-23 03:59:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,141
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13181910
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Missanna444/pseuds/Missanna444
Summary: Post-"Orison" angst.





	1. Chapter 1

_ “Pack a few things and we’ll get out of here.” _

 

That’s what Mulder had told her as the police were investigating her apartment. Scully was grateful that he was thinking ahead. Obviously, with the mess, she wouldn’t be able to stay. But she wouldn’t want to even if she could. She was still shaken from what had happened. Donnie Pfaster had gotten to her again. She’d been kidnapped by him twice and had barely survived the encounters. This time, though, had resulted in her shooting him. Yes, it was in self-defense and she didn’t have a choice. Still, it terrified her. 

 

“You okay, Scully?” Mulder’s gentle voice snapped her out of her trance. 

 

“Yeah… Let me just get dressed and we can go.” She said quietly. Mulder nodded and stepped out of the room so she could change. Almost ten minutes passed before he wondered if he should check on her. It was taking her much too long. As he approached the door to knock, he heard quiet sobs coming from the room. He knocked quietly. No response. He opened the door and found her curled up on the floor by the closet, crying softly. Immediately, he ran over to her and knelt beside her. 

 

“Scully? Hey, it’s just me…” He said softly, seeing her flinch at the sound of his voice before she registered who it was.. She looked up, tears in her blue eyes. 

 

“Mulder… Can we just… go? I can’t… I just need to get out of here.”

 

“Yeah… Yeah, of course we can.” He said and helped her up. She clumsily stood up and grabbed the bag she’d started packing. Mulder kept his hand gently against her back, some sort of reassurance for her. He remembered how she had broken down after her first encounter with Pfaster and couldn’t bear to think of what this recent experience was doing to her. No matter what, though, he had decided to be by her side to help her in any way she needed. He would do anything to make her feel safe. 

 

“Mulder, where are we going?” Scully asked after several silent minutes in the car.

 

“I got you a hotel room. Not one of the crappy motels we usually stay in, a real nice hotel.” He said, glancing at her. She shook her head, first slowly then more determined. 

 

“No… Let’s go to your apartment.” She said definitively. Mulder pulled the car over, a little confused.

 

“Scully, you don’t want to sleep at my apartment, it’s a mess, and--” 

 

“Mulder. Please. It’s the only place I feel comfortable right now. Anything could happen at a hotel, and my mind can’t take that thought right now. At least I know your apartment and I know that you’re there.” 

 

Mulder nodded silently, understanding her fears. Life or death moments led to messy mental states. He turned the car around and drove to his apartment. By the time they got there, she had already fallen asleep. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wasn't planning on adding a second part to this... But I couldn't sleep, so here you go.

 

It was nearly impossible for Mulder to carry Scully upstairs without her waking up. He tried, he really did. The thing was, Scully had never been a heavy sleeper, as he had recently discovered when they began spending nights together. She was an especially light sleeper when something had shaken her emotional well-being. This certainly applied to the situation at hand, as Mulder had deemed the elevator to jerky and decided to climb the stairs with a sleeping Scully in his arms. So, he climbed the few floors, each step extremely careful. She stirred slightly every time he moved enough to wake her. Each time, though, Mulder stood perfectly still for two or three minutes, making sure that she still asleep. She needed rest, no matter what she claimed, and he wasn’t about to interrupt that.

 

It was a struggle to unlock his door while carrying her. Somehow, though, he managed to do so without more than five minutes of struggle. He didn’t bother shutting the door until he had put her on the couch safely. She instinctively made herself comfortable, curling up against one of the pillows. Mulder gently draped the blanket over her before quietly crossing the room and shutting the door. He stood there for a moment, unsure of what she needed from him. He could stay in case she woke up, but he didn’t want to invade her privacy and space. On the other hand, he could go to his bedroom and get some rest. But what if she needed him? What if she woke up in fear to find no one there? 

 

He wasn’t left pondering this for very long, as Scully soon began tossing and turning in her sleep. Mulder cautiously approached, deciding whether to wake her or not. Once again, the choice was made for him. Scully snapped awake and sat up, breathing heavily. She looked around wildly in the dark until she felt Mulder’s hand grab onto hers.

 

“Mulder…?” She whispered, her voice still full of fear.

 

“It’s just me, Scully. It’s okay. No one’s going to hurt you. I’m here.” His tone was firm, something she could latch onto somehow. She blinked in the darkness, then squinted so she could see him.

 

“It is you…” She mumbled, letting out a sigh of relief. She was grateful for the lack of light, it hid the true emotions she was feeling. Somehow, though, Mulder could still read her without being able to see her.

 

“Are you okay? What happened?” Mulder asked, sitting carefully next to her.

 

“It was just a dream, I’m fine.” 

 

“Scully…”

 

“I’m fine!” She snapped at him, then sighed apologetically.

 

“You can tell me anything, you know that, right? No matter what’s going on in your head, no matter what you’re feeling… I want to be there for you. I want to help.”

 

“Mulder, I just killed someone, it’s not that simple.”

 

“You killed someone who was going to kill you and who had killed many others before you. You had no choice and you did the right thing.” 

 

“Yes, but I killed someone. I shot a gun and I killed someone. And… I didn’t feel sorry at first. It felt good. It terrifies me, Mulder. This isn’t as simple as you just reassuring me that this’ll be okay and then everything resolves itself.” She said, glaring at him. He raised his eyebrows at her confession. Somehow, in getting her to argue with him, she ended up opening herself up to him. 

 

“Is it ever that simple with us?” He pointed out. 

 

“Fair enough….” She turned away from him, curling back up and hugging the pillow. “Stay…?” She asked sleepily. 

 

“Of course.” He said quietly, then adjusted the way both of them were lying down so that they could be comfortable. Both of them fell asleep, albeit restlessly, uncertain of the future ahead of them.


End file.
